Jan 28, 2014

The Answer's in Layers

As any good musher knows (and as Mama Pea over at A Homegrown Journal, reminded me)the way to stay warm in bitter cold weather is layers. You layer, layer, layer. First you put on your "unmentionables", which I won't mention. Next is your long underwear. Under Armor is the "in" brand right now, but I'm not very "in".
Now you find a long sleeved T and a pair of leggings to go over the longjohns.
Alright, next a sweatshirt...
and some insulated windpants.
Don't forget your feet. A good pair of socks and some Smart Wools.
Okay, now you're set to read a good book. What if you decide you want to go outside? You'll need-a set of warm coveralls.
If it's really nasty, a jacket to go over the coveralls. (I don't usually need this.)
Some choppers, some liners, a neck gator, and a hat to wear under your hood-
And a good pair of boots...
I recommend Steger Mukluks. They are so very warm. I had a pair for 15 years and they are fantastic. Now, I have a pair of packs. So there you have it. Stay warm. :) P.S. Please excuse how cruddy the clothes look. They're my barn clothes and just look like it.

Jan 23, 2014

No End In Sight?

I guess this is the time of year when it's easy to get tired of winter and look longingly for spring. Maybe that's why I'm writing this blog of complaint. My mom says we're becoming weather wimps and I think she's right. * Our thermometer is down around -30 this morning with something of a wind chill. I don't really want to know. We've been in the deep freeze up here for about two months, I'm ready for some nicer weather. Oh, we have sun, thankfully, and every couple of weeks an unusually warm day. Tomorrow the high is supposed to be 31 and that's above zero! Then more bitter cold. I am grateful for the reprieve. By the end of the month the forecast is for highs in the teens and I guess I can look forward to that. * This morning it's comfort food-French Breakfast Muffins.
After baking, leave the oven door open and stand above it. So nice and warm. This is the type of weather that has me using the dryer and circulating all of the exhaust back into the basement. I'll take heat anyway that I can get it. :) + Well, the woodstove is going, the propane furnace is going and I'm going to finish up this muffin and tea and get ready to do chores. Stay warm.

Jan 15, 2014

Roo the Day

Roo-verb-Process of removing fleece by hand plucking * This is how I prefer to get the fiber off of my Angora rabbits. I only have four, so it isn't a full time job. Today was Charlie's turn to get a grooming. He gives so much fiber that it's amazing there's anything left of him. Here is Charlie after I pulled most of his fur.
And here's the pile of fiber-
My son said the pile is bigger than the rabbit! Good bunny. :)

Jan 13, 2014

Dyeing With Spices

I have a new project in mind that requires wool yarn. I have a bag of wool yarn that I purchased from Goodwill for 3.99. Unfortunately it's all white. I thought I'd try using spices to dye it. I've used commercial dyes, Kood-Aid dyes, natural dyes, so this is new for me. * First I tried chili powder which was supposed to give me a brick red color. Here's the yarn, pre-dye.
I used 1/4 cup chili powder for each 4 cups of water. So that was 2 cups total.
I put the powder in cloth bags and boiled it for an hour and a half.
I added a cup of vinegar for every four cups of dye bath.
This is the color of the dye.
I simmered the yarn in the dye bath for an hour and the color just didn't take. Either this isn't wool or the chili powder is too old? It's been sitting in my pantry for at least 6 years. :) So I decided to try dyeing with turmeric instead. Here's the comparison of the colors-
The top photo is the one with the chili powder. The color is a tan/very light brown. The bottom one is the turmeric. Too much color??? I love yellow-good thing. Paprika is good for dyeing, also. I buy my spices in bulk from the local buying club and they're very reasonable. * Now I'll do a sample swatch and see if this yarn will felt. If anyone tries dyeing this way, maybe you could share some photos of the end results.

Jan 6, 2014

What to do at -35? Saponify.

Getting used to this weather. -35 only freezes my eyebrows, now. I'm down to my last gallon of frozen goat's milk and decided it would be a great day to make some more soap. Timing is everything when I do this and I'm not too great at it. Anyways, I did get 8 lbs. of soap made this morning. I made a 4 lb batch of lavender. I had run out of lavender flowers and ground up some lavender leaves that I had in the still room. Still smelled as sweet. Also did a batch with aloe vera and vitamin E. Thought this would be a great moisturizing bar. I had a bit of lavender soap left over and filled a few "novelty" molds.
My bar molds all tucked in for an overnight nap.
The hard part is waiting another six weeks for the soaps to cure before I can use them.
This is a picture of my kitchen after my honey has been working on it over Christmas. His present to me-to finally get the kitchen finished. Still have a ways to go, but it's so much nicer already. Note the cement countertop he made me. What a guy. P.S. Can anyone tell me how to put paragraph breaks in my blog? Hitting enter doesn't work anymore and my blogs just kinda run together without any paragraphs. Thanks.

Jan 4, 2014

Try Something New

Let's see a show of hands for everyone who has perused all 25 seed catalogs that have arrived. How many have made out orders for seeds already? I have been through the catalogs and instead of trying one new type of seed, I think I'm going to try quite a few. Here's some that look interesting-
(picture from Richter's Seeds) These are Red Pod Asparagus Beans. Aren't they lovely? I'd like to try Daikon radishes, Amish Deer Tongue Lettuce, Cossack Pineapple Tomatillo (these have a sweet, pineapple like flavor), and Rattail Radishes-look really interesting. For herbs I'd like to add-costmary (which I grew at my old homestead), fibre flax (because I don't have enough to do), banana mint-umm, and Orris. The catalogs are so full of new (or in some cases, very old) varieties. So many seeds, so little time.

Jan 1, 2014

Blessed New Year!

I could start the new year complaining about the weather. Uh...but part of my New Year's resolution is to stop complaining and work on a grateful heart. Look on the bright side-my mom says with weather this cold those nasty cold and flu viruses die. Getting outside every morning to do chores is a real push, but once out there it's very refreshing. With Christmas behind us, I'm going to start working on prepping my fiber. I have bags and bags of mohair, angora, alpaca and wool up in the cubby. I have plans and ideas and seems like this would be the ideal time to get going on these projects. This is some of the angora/mohair that I carded up yesterday.
I'd like to dye and card up some of the alpaca so I can try doing some felting with it. That will be next. This is so much fun. Spinning and carding are very addicting. From Glory Farm-Blessed New Year.

Jan 28, 2014

The Answer's in Layers

As any good musher knows (and as Mama Pea over at A Homegrown Journal, reminded me)the way to stay warm in bitter cold weather is layers. You layer, layer, layer. First you put on your "unmentionables", which I won't mention. Next is your long underwear. Under Armor is the "in" brand right now, but I'm not very "in".
Now you find a long sleeved T and a pair of leggings to go over the longjohns.
Alright, next a sweatshirt...
and some insulated windpants.
Don't forget your feet. A good pair of socks and some Smart Wools.
Okay, now you're set to read a good book. What if you decide you want to go outside? You'll need-a set of warm coveralls.
If it's really nasty, a jacket to go over the coveralls. (I don't usually need this.)
Some choppers, some liners, a neck gator, and a hat to wear under your hood-
And a good pair of boots...
I recommend Steger Mukluks. They are so very warm. I had a pair for 15 years and they are fantastic. Now, I have a pair of packs. So there you have it. Stay warm. :) P.S. Please excuse how cruddy the clothes look. They're my barn clothes and just look like it.

Jan 23, 2014

No End In Sight?

I guess this is the time of year when it's easy to get tired of winter and look longingly for spring. Maybe that's why I'm writing this blog of complaint. My mom says we're becoming weather wimps and I think she's right. * Our thermometer is down around -30 this morning with something of a wind chill. I don't really want to know. We've been in the deep freeze up here for about two months, I'm ready for some nicer weather. Oh, we have sun, thankfully, and every couple of weeks an unusually warm day. Tomorrow the high is supposed to be 31 and that's above zero! Then more bitter cold. I am grateful for the reprieve. By the end of the month the forecast is for highs in the teens and I guess I can look forward to that. * This morning it's comfort food-French Breakfast Muffins.
After baking, leave the oven door open and stand above it. So nice and warm. This is the type of weather that has me using the dryer and circulating all of the exhaust back into the basement. I'll take heat anyway that I can get it. :) + Well, the woodstove is going, the propane furnace is going and I'm going to finish up this muffin and tea and get ready to do chores. Stay warm.

Jan 15, 2014

Roo the Day

Roo-verb-Process of removing fleece by hand plucking * This is how I prefer to get the fiber off of my Angora rabbits. I only have four, so it isn't a full time job. Today was Charlie's turn to get a grooming. He gives so much fiber that it's amazing there's anything left of him. Here is Charlie after I pulled most of his fur.
And here's the pile of fiber-
My son said the pile is bigger than the rabbit! Good bunny. :)

Jan 13, 2014

Dyeing With Spices

I have a new project in mind that requires wool yarn. I have a bag of wool yarn that I purchased from Goodwill for 3.99. Unfortunately it's all white. I thought I'd try using spices to dye it. I've used commercial dyes, Kood-Aid dyes, natural dyes, so this is new for me. * First I tried chili powder which was supposed to give me a brick red color. Here's the yarn, pre-dye.
I used 1/4 cup chili powder for each 4 cups of water. So that was 2 cups total.
I put the powder in cloth bags and boiled it for an hour and a half.
I added a cup of vinegar for every four cups of dye bath.
This is the color of the dye.
I simmered the yarn in the dye bath for an hour and the color just didn't take. Either this isn't wool or the chili powder is too old? It's been sitting in my pantry for at least 6 years. :) So I decided to try dyeing with turmeric instead. Here's the comparison of the colors-
The top photo is the one with the chili powder. The color is a tan/very light brown. The bottom one is the turmeric. Too much color??? I love yellow-good thing. Paprika is good for dyeing, also. I buy my spices in bulk from the local buying club and they're very reasonable. * Now I'll do a sample swatch and see if this yarn will felt. If anyone tries dyeing this way, maybe you could share some photos of the end results.

Jan 6, 2014

What to do at -35? Saponify.

Getting used to this weather. -35 only freezes my eyebrows, now. I'm down to my last gallon of frozen goat's milk and decided it would be a great day to make some more soap. Timing is everything when I do this and I'm not too great at it. Anyways, I did get 8 lbs. of soap made this morning. I made a 4 lb batch of lavender. I had run out of lavender flowers and ground up some lavender leaves that I had in the still room. Still smelled as sweet. Also did a batch with aloe vera and vitamin E. Thought this would be a great moisturizing bar. I had a bit of lavender soap left over and filled a few "novelty" molds.
My bar molds all tucked in for an overnight nap.
The hard part is waiting another six weeks for the soaps to cure before I can use them.
This is a picture of my kitchen after my honey has been working on it over Christmas. His present to me-to finally get the kitchen finished. Still have a ways to go, but it's so much nicer already. Note the cement countertop he made me. What a guy. P.S. Can anyone tell me how to put paragraph breaks in my blog? Hitting enter doesn't work anymore and my blogs just kinda run together without any paragraphs. Thanks.

Jan 4, 2014

Try Something New

Let's see a show of hands for everyone who has perused all 25 seed catalogs that have arrived. How many have made out orders for seeds already? I have been through the catalogs and instead of trying one new type of seed, I think I'm going to try quite a few. Here's some that look interesting-
(picture from Richter's Seeds) These are Red Pod Asparagus Beans. Aren't they lovely? I'd like to try Daikon radishes, Amish Deer Tongue Lettuce, Cossack Pineapple Tomatillo (these have a sweet, pineapple like flavor), and Rattail Radishes-look really interesting. For herbs I'd like to add-costmary (which I grew at my old homestead), fibre flax (because I don't have enough to do), banana mint-umm, and Orris. The catalogs are so full of new (or in some cases, very old) varieties. So many seeds, so little time.

Jan 1, 2014

Blessed New Year!

I could start the new year complaining about the weather. Uh...but part of my New Year's resolution is to stop complaining and work on a grateful heart. Look on the bright side-my mom says with weather this cold those nasty cold and flu viruses die. Getting outside every morning to do chores is a real push, but once out there it's very refreshing. With Christmas behind us, I'm going to start working on prepping my fiber. I have bags and bags of mohair, angora, alpaca and wool up in the cubby. I have plans and ideas and seems like this would be the ideal time to get going on these projects. This is some of the angora/mohair that I carded up yesterday.
I'd like to dye and card up some of the alpaca so I can try doing some felting with it. That will be next. This is so much fun. Spinning and carding are very addicting. From Glory Farm-Blessed New Year.